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What is good for the soil is good for our communities. That’s the theory behind a six-event discussion series, Climate and Community Resilience: Lessons from the Soil. The events will be held on six dates from late March through mid-May. Details are available at vitalcommunities.org/soil.

Applications due by May 29, 2020. The 2018 Farm Bill made several changes to this critical conservation program, which helps agricultural producers take the conservation activities on their farm to the next level.

Keith Cutshall, Gleaning Director at CROS Ministries of Lake Worth, Florida served on the Association’s board selection committee and had this to share, “one of the things that stands out in my memory of the 2019 Seattle Gleaning Symposium was the presentation that Theresa gave. Her insight into the role food recovery could play in our communities and the depth of her understanding of leading an organization to do that were impressive. I was very excited when she expressed a willingness to serve on the founding board of the Association. I am confident that her leadership will enable the board to become what we envision it to be and more.”

The Vermont Farm & Forest Viability Program, a program of the Vermont Housing & Conservation Board, has grant funds available for on-farm capital improvement projects that have a positive impact on water quality. Eligible farmers can apply for a Water Quality Grant, which provides $5,000 to $40,000 in funding. Applications due March 20, 2020.

The North American Center for Saffron Research and Development at the University of Vermont (UVM) is hosting the 4th annual workshop on Saffron production and marketing on Thursday, March 12, 2020 in Burlington, VT.

The Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets is now accepting applications for the 2020 LFMD grant program. Up to $30,000 is available to fund proposals that will help increase the amount of Vermont agricultural products being sold to institutional and local wholesale markets.

With interest growing in local food systems as a community development tool, scholars and practitioners are looking for methods to count progress toward benchmarks. A new article, Counting Local Food Consumption: Longitudinal Data and Lessons from Vermont, released by the Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development (JAFSCD) reports on efforts to count local food consumption as part of Vermont’s statewide strategic plan for food systems development.

The 21-Day Racial Equity Habit-Building Challenge is coming back for its sixth year and "early registration" is open now. There is no cost to participate in this robust program that draws more than 4,000 participants from across the U.S.

A recent partnership between Food Connects and RiseVT, the primary prevention program of OneCare Vermont, increases accessibility for Early Childhood Educators (ECEs) to attend the upcoming Food Connects Farm to School Conference. Funding through RiseVT’s Amplify Grant has made it possible for 15 ECEs to attend Food Connects’ Conference on April 8 at no cost.

Everyone needs to eat. Simple, right? Food, a basic necessity, seems so straightforward, but for many Vermonters, getting affordable and nutritious food can be difficult. From children to older Vermonters, the difficulties in getting enough food that is affordable and nutritious are many. The Vermont Farm to Plate Network recently launched a Local Planning for Food Access Toolkit.